Multi-mode hybrid storage drive

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of systems and methods for managing a multi-mode hybrid storage device are described. In an embodiment, a method includes identifying an operational state of a system having a hybrid data storage device and an interfacing processor configured to interface with the hybrid data storage device. A method may also include interacting with the hybrid data storage device according to one of a plurality of interaction modes in response to the operational state of the system.

FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to computer systems, and morespecifically, to a multi-mode hybrid storage drive.

BACKGROUND

In general, Information Handling Systems (IHS) include a processingdevice, a memory device for storing computer code that, when executed bythe processor, causes the IHS to perform various operations on data anda data storage device for storing the data. Failures can occur in suchsystems when data stored in the data storage device becomesinaccessible, either due to a problem with the programs executing on theprocessor, or due to a physical problem with the data storage device.For example, a magnetic data storage device may include multiplemagnetic disks which are configured to spin at a high rate of speed andstore data thereon. Because the magnetic disks are typically made offragile material and because they spin at such a high rate of speed,hard disk drives can easily become damaged if dropped, vibrated, orexposed to various other environmental or electrical conditions that maybe damaging.

Often, a failure of a hard disk drive can be catastrophic, meaning thatthe data that has been stored on the hard disk drive may becomeinaccessible unless the disks are removed from the drive and installedin a data recovery device. Such recovery methods can be too costly ortime consuming to be practical, so the data stored on the disk drive maybe lost. Additionally, disk errors can become frustrating for computerusers, because the system may not respond as expected or because datarepresenting significant time expenditure, financial value, orsentimental value may be lost. An additional cost of such errors is theloss of user productivity and associated opportunity costs.

Solid State Memory assisted storage devices, such as hybrid Hard DiskDrives using Flash memory (Hybrid HDDs), use a combination of storagemedia including, for example, magnetic disk drives in combination withflash memory. Such devices may use the flash as a cache to enhanceperformance. Generally though, each device may contain one cachingpolicy at a time and it is not able to dynamically change the policybased on the current application/usage of the device. Therefore, thedevice behavior is target as “one size fit all” and does not typicallychange the device attributes based on the system condition or specificusage case.

In the event of a storage device failure or corrupted operating system,the end user does not have the ability to reboot their system. Thus theuser may be at a standstill from a productivity perspective.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of systems and methods for managing a multi-mode hybridstorage device are described. In an embodiment, a method includesidentifying an operational state of a system having a hybrid datastorage device and an interfacing processor configured to interface withthe hybrid data storage device. A method may also include interactingwith the hybrid data storage device according to one of a plurality ofinteraction modes in response to the operational state of the system.

In one embodiment, the hybrid data storage device comprises a hard diskdrive component and a solid state drive component. The hybrid datastorage device may be configured to operate in a hybrid mode in whichboth the hard disk drive component and the solid state drive componentare addressable by an interfacing processor. Alternatively, the hybriddata storage device is configured to operate in a hard disk drive modein which only the hard disk drive component is addressable by aninterfacing processor. In another embodiment, the hybrid data storagedevice is configured to operate in a solid state drive mode in whichonly the solid state drive component is addressable by an interfacingprocessor.

In one embodiment, an operational state of the system comprises aninitialization state in which an interfacing processor is configured toload system software from the hard disk drive component and establish apartition in the solid state drive component for hosting an alternateoperating system and a cache of persistently accessible files. Inanother embodiment, the operational state of the system comprises anormal operation state in which a subset of files stored by a primaryoperating system on the hard disk drive component is stored in a cacheof persistently accessible files. Alternatively, the operational stateof the system comprises a degraded state in which an alternate operatingsystem hosted by the solid state component is configured to run on aninterfacing processor in response to a detected degradation of aperformance characteristic of a primary operating system or the harddisk drive component. In still another embodiment, the operational stateof the system comprises a recovery state in which files stored in acache of persistently accessible files stored on the solid statecomponent are accessible by an interfacing processor.

Embodiments of an Information Handling System (IHS) are also presented.In an embodiment, the IHS includes a hybrid data storage device. The IHSmay also include an interfacing processor configured to interface withthe hybrid data storage device. Additionally, the IHS may include amemory coupled to the interfacing processor, the memory includingprogram instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by theinterfacing processor, cause the interfacing processor to identify anoperational state of the IHS system, and interact with the hybrid datastorage device according to one of a plurality of interaction modes inresponse to the operational state of the system.

Embodiments of a non-transitory computer-readable medium having programinstructions stored thereon that, upon execution by an InformationHandling System (IHS) are also presented. In one embodiment, theoperations performed by the IHS may include identifying an operationalstate of a system having a hybrid data storage device and an interfacingprocessor configured to interface with the hybrid data storage device,and interacting with the hybrid data storage device according to one ofa plurality of interaction modes in response to the operational state ofthe system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention(s) is/are illustrated by way of example and is/arenot limited by the accompanying figures, in which like referencesindicate similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated forsimplicity and clarity, and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system forpersistent productivity.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of a user interfacedevice configured for persistent productivity.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of an Information HandlingSystem (IHS) according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a user interfacedevice having a multi-mode hybrid storage drive.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a drive modecontroller.

FIG. 6 is a software stack diagram illustrating one embodiment of asoftware system for managing a multi-mode hybrid storage drive.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor managing a multi-mode hybrid storage drive.

FIG. 8 is a system state diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor managing a multi-mode hybrid storage drive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present embodiments describe an IHS configured with a hybrid datastorage device that is configured to operate according to one ofmultiple modes depending upon an operational state of the IHS. In onesuch embodiment, the IHS may include a drive mode controller configuredto detect an operational state of the IHS and to allow a processingdevice to interface with the hybrid storage device according to one ofthe plurality of modes. In an embodiment, the hybrid storage device mayinclude multiple distinct types of storage media. For example, a hybriddrive may include a magnetic hard disk drive and also a solid statedrive in one embodiment. Modes of operation may include: a hybrid modewhere both the hard disk drive and the solid state drive are accessible;a hard disk drive mode where only the hard disk drive is accessible; anda solid state drive mode where only the solid state drive is accessible.Access to the hard disk drive component or the solid state drivecomponent of the hybrid drive may be limited by limiting logical blockaddressing for the drives respectively.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 100 formanaging a multi-mode hybrid storage drive. In an embodiment, the system100 includes one or more user interface devices 102 a-b. The userinterface devices 102 a-b may be computing devices, such as desktopcomputers, laptop computers, tablet computing devices, mobile computingdevices, etc. In other embodiments, the user interface devices mayinclude or be coupled to servers, networking devices, securityappliances, or the like. In still other embodiments, the user interfacesmay be of diverse types. For example, a first user interface device 102a may be a desktop workstation, and a second user interface device 102 bmay be a mobile computing device or a tablet computing device. Incertain embodiments, aspects of the first user interface device 102 amay be tied or related to aspects of the second user interface device102 b. For example, a selection of a user's files, accounts,configuration, applications, etc. may be shared between the first userinterface device 102 a and the second user interface device 102 b. Oneof ordinary skill will recognize a variety of user interface devices 102a-b that may be configured according to the present embodiments.

In an embodiment, the system 100 may include a removable storage medium104 which may store information used by the user interface device 102 a.Examples of removable storage media 104 include flash memory drives,Secure Digital (SD) cards, optical storage disks, external magnetic diskdrives, external Solid State Drives (SSD), etc. In an embodiment, theremovable storage media 104 may communicate with the user interfacedevice 102 a through a data communication port, such as a UniversalSerial Bus (USB) port, or the like. Alternatively, the removable storagemedia 104 may communicate with the user interface device 102 awirelessly through, e.g., a WiFi or Bluetooth communication interface.

User interface devices 102 a-b may be configured to communicate via aninterface to network 106. Network 106 may include a Local Area Network(LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN) connection, a connection to theInternet, etc. The network 106 may include various components, such asnetwork routing devices, network switching devices, network hubs,network firewalls, wireless access points, mobile data connections,telecommunications network backbone hardware, etc. In variousembodiments, the network 106 may be configured to receive communicationrequests from the user interface devices 102 a-b and transmit responsesfrom other devices connected to the network 106 back to the userinterface devices 102 a-b.

In an embodiment, the system 100 may include one or more devices orsubsystems which may be provided to service the user interface devices102 a-b. For example, service provider interface 108 may be provided toallow a service provider to communicate with the user interface device102 a. In one example, embodiment, the service provider may be atechnical support technician. The technical support technician mayestablish a user support session, such as a chat session with a user ofthe user interface device 102 a, b. The user support session mayadditionally include a remote access session, a file transfer session, avoice or video connection, etc. In an embodiment, the user supportsession may be requested by the user of the user interface device 102 a,b. In another embodiment, the user interface device 102 a, b mayautomatically request the user support session in response toencountering a system error.

In an embodiment, the system 100 may also include an application server110. In such an embodiment, the application server 110 may provide theuser interface devices 102 a-b with access to one or more applications110. For example, the user interface device 102 a-b may operate as athin client which displays video related to operations of an applicationhosted by application server 110, but does not directly handleprocessing of data associated with operation of the application. In afurther embodiment, the user interface device 102 a-b may additionallyprovide an interactive interface allowing the user to enter data ormanipulate operation of the application. Data and commands entered bythe user at the user interface device 102 a, b may be communicated toapplication server 110 via network 106.

In one example, the application server 110 may be accessed by the userinterface device 102 a, b in the event of a failure being detected atthe user interface device 102 a. For example, in the event of a systemfailure of an operating system, the user interface device 102 a, b mayautomatically switch to a fault recovery mode. In the fault recoverymode, the user interface 102 a may still be used by the user to performtasks, but the operating system may be operated on the applicationserver 110 and the user interface device 102 a may simply operate as auser interface client of the application server 110 allowing the user toenter inputs which are communicated to the application server 110 vianetwork 106, and seeing responsive actions of the operating system onthe application server 110. One of ordinary skill will recognizeadditional examples involving applications which may be hosted byapplication server 110, including word processing applications, emailapplications, photo editing applications, etc.

In an embodiment, image storage 112 may provide remote storagefunctionality for user interface device 102 a. In one embodiment, theimage storage 112 may store a complete image of the data stored on userinterface device 102 a, b. In another embodiment, the image storage 112may store a partial image of data stored on the user interface device102 a, b. For example, a selection of files or folders stored on theuser interface device 102 a may be designated for storage on the imagestorage 112. In such an embodiment, the files or folders may becommunicated to image storage 112 via network 106 for storage. In stillanother embodiment, incremental changes to information stored on theuser interface device 102 a may be communicated to image storage device112, such that the copies of information stored on image storage 112 aresynchronized with the information stored on user interface device 102 a.

The system 100 of FIG. 1 is just one example of a possible system whichmay be used according to the present embodiments. Certain components ofsystem 100 may be added or omitted without substantial change to thefundamental operation of the system. For example, while it may be usefulto include a removable storage media 104, this component of system 100may be omitted in various embodiments. Similarly, a user interfacedevice 102 may access an application server during a user supportsession, but this component of system 100 may also be omitted in variousembodiments. Additionally, image storage 112 may be useful to a servicetechnician during a user support session, but this component may also beomitted in various embodiments. One of ordinary skill will alsorecognize that certain components may be added to system 100.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of a user interfacedevice 102 configured for managing a multi-mode hybrid storage drive. Inan embodiment, the user interface device 102 may include a processingdevice 202, a memory 204, a data storage drive 206, a persistent datastorage 208, and a unique identifier 210. In various embodiments, theunique identifier 210 may be a hardware identification tag, asystem-specific service tag, etc. One of ordinary skill will recognizealternative embodiments of a user interface device 102. For example, incertain embodiments the user interface device 102 may omit certainelements described in FIG. 2, or may add certain additional elements notdescribed in FIG. 2. An alternative embodiment of a user interfacedevice is shown in FIG. 4.

In an embodiment, the processing device 202 may execute programmedinstructions stored in the memory 204 or the data storage drive 206. Forexample, the data storage drive may store program code associated with afirst operating system 212. Portions of the code for the first operatingsystem 212 may be loaded by the processing device 202 into the memory204. In an embodiment, the first operating system is a Windows®operating system available from Microsoft® Corporation. Additionally,the processing device 202 may access data files stored in either thememory 204 or the data storage drive 206. In an embodiment, a user ofthe user interface device 202 a may access data files 214 using controlsprovided by the operating system 212.

In certain embodiments, one or more data files 214, or the firstoperating system 212 a may experience a fault. Faults may includehardware malfunctions or failures or software failures. In such anembodiment, the processor 202 may access code for system recovery. In aparticular embodiment, the system recovery code may cause the processor202 to load a second operating system, such as an alternate operatingsystem 212 b.

Additionally, in various embodiments, the processing device 202 maystore user data on a persistent data storage 208 for recovery in theevent of a fault. In a particular embodiment, the persistent datastorage device 208 may store recently accessed files. In anotherembodiment, the persistent data storage 208 may contain code for thealternate operating system 212 b. In such an embodiment, the alternateoperating system 212 b may still be accessible, even if the data storagedrive is inaccessible. In still other embodiments, the persistent datastorage 208 may store system configuration settings, system fault logs,system status logs, etc. In a particular embodiment, the persistent datastorage 208 may be non-volatile data storage, such as flash storage. Instill a further embodiment, data in the persistent data storage 208 maybe accessible on removable storage media 104.

FIG. 3 illustrates a computer system 300 adapted according to certainembodiments of a user interface device 102 a-b, the service providerinterface 108, the application server 110, and/or the image server 112.The central processing unit (CPU) 302 is coupled to the system bus 304.In an embodiment, the processing device 202 may be implemented with CPU302. The CPU 302 may be a general purpose CPU or microprocessor. Thepresent embodiments are not restricted by the architecture of the CPU302, so long as the CPU 302 supports the modules and operations asdescribed herein. The CPU 302 may execute the various logicalinstructions according to the present embodiments. For example, the CPU302 may execute machine-level instructions according to the exemplaryoperations described below with reference to FIGS. 6-8.

The computer system 300 also may include Random Access Memory (RAM) 308,which may be SRAM, DRAM, SDRAM, or the like. The computer system 300 mayutilize RAM 308 to store the various data structures used by a softwareapplication configured to maintain technical support continuity acrosssystem restarts and multiple operating systems. The computer system 300may also include Read Only Memory (ROM) 306 which may be PROM, EPROM,EEPROM, optical storage, or the like. The ROM may store configurationinformation for booting the computer system 300. The RAM 308 and the ROM306 hold user and system 100 data. In various embodiments, memory 204 ofuser interface device 102 may be implemented with ROM 306 and/or RAM308.

The computer system 300 may also include an input/output (I/O) adapter310, a communications adapter 314, a user interface adapter 316, and adisplay adapter 322. The I/O adapter 310 and/or user the interfaceadapter 316 may, in certain embodiments, enable a user to interact withthe computer system 300 in order to input information for interactingwith operating system 212. In a further embodiment, the display adapter322 may display a user support session, such as a chat window.

The I/O adapter 310 may connect to one or more storage devices 312, suchas one or more of a hard drive, a Compact Disk (CD) drive, a floppy diskdrive, a tape drive, to the computer system 300. In a particularembodiment, the storage devices 312 may be hybrid storage drives, whichinclude both magnetic data storage disks 312 a and a SSD 312 b. In otherembodiments, flash memory may be substituted for the SSD 312 b. The SSD312 b may comprise the persistent data storage 208, which in oneembodiment, may store code for the alternate operating system 212 b. Thecommunications adapter 314 may be adapted to couple the computer system300 to the network 106, which may be one or more of a LAN and/or WAN,and/or the Internet. The user interface adapter 316 couples user inputdevices, such as a keyboard 320 and a pointing device 318, to thecomputer system 300. The display adapter 322 may be driven by the CPU302 to control the display on the display device 324.

The present embodiments are not limited to the architecture of system300. Rather the computer system 300 is provided as an example of onetype of computing device that may be adapted to perform the functions ofa server 102 and/or the user interface device 110. For example, anysuitable processor-based device may be utilized including withoutlimitation, including personal data assistants (PDAs), computer gameconsoles, tablet computers, and multi-processor servers. Moreover, thepresent embodiments may be implemented on application specificintegrated circuits (ASIC) or very large scale integrated (VLSI)circuits. In fact, persons of ordinary skill in the art may utilize anynumber of suitable structures capable of executing logical operationsaccording to the described embodiments.

A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that computersystem 300 is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the scopeof the disclosure described herein. In particular, the computer systemand devices may include any combination of hardware or software that canperform the indicated operations. In addition, the operations performedby the illustrated components may, in some embodiments, be performed byfewer components or distributed across additional components. Similarly,in other embodiments, the operations of some of the illustratedcomponents may not be performed and/or other additional operations maybe available. Accordingly, systems and methods described herein may beimplemented or executed with other computer system configurations.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a user interfacedevice 102 configured for managing partitions in hybrid storage drives312. In an embodiment, the user interface device 102 may include ahybrid storage drive 312, which may include, for example, a hard diskdrive (HDD) 312 a and an associated solid state drive (SSD) 312 b. TheHDD 312 a may store the primary operating system 212 a and the primarydata files 214. The SSD 312 b may store the alternate operating system312 b. In a further embodiment, the SSD 312 b may also store one or morebackup files 404. In an embodiment, the hybrid storage drive 312 may beconfigured to operate according to a plurality of operation modes asdefined and controlled by a drive mode controller 402. For example, thedrive mode controller 402 may cause the hybrid storage drive 312 tooperate as a HDD only in certain operational states. In otheroperational states, the drive mode controller 402 may cause the hybridstorage drive 312 to operate as an SSD 312 b only. In still otheroperational states, the drive mode controller 402 may cause the hybridstorage drive 312 to operate in a hybrid mode where both the HDD 312 aand the SSD 312 b are operational and accessible. For example, drivemode controller 402 may be implemented cooperatively in hybrid storagedrive 312 and CPU 302, and HDD 312 a and SSD 312 b may be a singlephysical device such as a hybrid drive.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a drive modecontroller 404. In an embodiment, the drive mode controller 404 mayinclude a system state detector 502. The system state detector 502 maybe configured to identify an operational state of the user interfacedevice 102. Various operational states may be defined according to oneor more state definition policies. In an embodiment the operationalstates may be defined in response to one or more system performancecharacteristics, one or more system software events, one or morephysical characteristics of the system as indicated by one or moresensors, or the like. In a particular embodiment, the system states mayinclude an initialization mode, a normal operation mode, a degradedmode, and a recovery mode. In an example, the system state detector 502may identify the user interface device 102 as operating in aninitialization mode immediately upon system boot until a predeterminedstate of the primary operating system 212 a has been achieved. Once theprimary operating system 212 a has reached a predetermined operatingstate, the system state detector 502 may determine that the system is innormal operating mode. If a system failure occurs, the system statedetector 502 may determine that the system is in a degraded mode. Once asystem error remediation process has been initiated, the system statedetector 510 may trigger a recovery mode. One ordinary skill in the artwill recognize alternative criteria for determining a system state. Forexample, rather than referring to an operational state of the primaryoperating system 212 a, the system state detector may monitor anoperational state of the hybrid storage drive 312, for example.

In addition to the system state detector 502, the drive mode controller402 may include one or more additional operational modules for managingoperation of the hybrid storage drive 312 in response to the one or morestates detected by the system state detector 502. For example, the drivemode controller 402 may include an initialization mode unit 504, anormal mode unit 506, a degraded mode unit 508, and a recovery mode unit510.

In one embodiment, the initialization mode unit 504 is configured tomanage operation of the hybrid storage drive 312 during aninitialization state. During the initialization state, the CPU 302 maybe configured to load system software from the HDD 312 a. Thus, in oneembodiment, the initialization mode unit 504 may cause the HDD 312 acomponent of the hybrid storage drive 312 to be addressable.Additionally, during initialization the initialization mode unit 504 mayalso establish a partition in the SSD 312 b component of the hybridstorage drive 312 for hosting the alternate operating system 212 b and acache of persistently accessible files or backup files 404. Thus, in oneembodiment the initialization mode unit 504 may cause the hybrid storagedevice 312 to operate in a hybrid mode, where both the HDD 312 a and theSSD 312 b components are addressable.

In one embodiment, the system state detector 502 may determine that thesystem is in a normal state. In the normal state, the normal mode unit506 may cause the hybrid storage drive 312 to report to the primaryoperating system in HDD mode where only the HDD component 312 a isaddressable for storage of primary data files 214. Nonetheless, the SSDcomponent 312 b may still be separately addressable by certainbackground processes and/or agents. For example, in one embodiment asdescribed in FIG. 6, a persistent cache handler 602 may operate as anagent or background process to identify a subset of the primary datafiles 214 to store as backup files 404 in a persistent data cache.

FIG. 6 is a software stack diagram illustrating one embodiment of acomputer system for a dynamically updated user data cache for persistentproductivity. As described above, during normal mode, the primaryoperating system 212 a may store primary data files 214 in a primarydata storage device 312 a, such as a magnetic disk drive. To do this,the primary operating system 212 a may run a disk driver 604 which isconfigured to handle storage of the primary data files 214. The diskdriver 604 may store part of the primary data files 214 in a performanceblock cache 608. The performance block cache 608 may be stored on an SSD312 b storage module of a hybrid storage device in one embodiment. Theprimary data files 214 may them be copied from the performance blockcache 608 to the primary storage device 312 a.

Additionally, the operating system 212 a may operate a persistent cachehandler 602. In an embodiment, the persistent cache handler 602 is theagent 402. The persistent cache handler 602 may identify a set of theprimary data files 214 to store in a persistent file cache 606 as backupfiles 404. In an embodiment, the persistent file cache 606 may also bestored on an SSD 312 b portion of a hybrid storage drive 312. Althoughboth the HDD 312 a component and the SSD 312 b components may be usedduring normal mode, the hybrid storage drive 312 may only appear as aHDD 312 to the user and to applications running on the primary operatingsystem 212 a during normal operation. Additionally, during normal modeonly the primary operating system 212 a is operational, and thealternate operating system 212 b remains dormant.

Referring back to FIG. 5, in the event of a system failure, particularlya failure involving the HDD 312 a component of the hybrid storage drive312, the system state detector 502 may determine that the system isrunning in a degraded state and trigger the degraded mode unit 508 tohandle management of the hybrid storage drive 312. In such anembodiment, the degraded mode unit 508 may cause the hybrid storagedrive 312 to operate as an SSD, where only the SSD 312 b component ofthe hybrid storage drive 312 is addressable. In such an embodiment, thedegraded mode unit 508 may allow the alternate operating system 212 b toboot and access backup files 404 stored in the persistent file cache 606during normal mode. In such an embodiment, the user of the userinterface device 102 may be able to pick up where he or she left offfrom a productivity perspective by using the alternate operating system212 b to access the backup files 404 until the system can be repaired.Additionally, the alternate operating system may facilitate initiationof a system fault remediation or technical support session with a remoteservice provider. In one embodiment, the alternate operating system 212b may provide the hardware identification tag 210 to the remote serviceprovider for establishing a persistent technical support session.

The system state detector may identify a recovery system state inresponse to a determination that the user has initiated a virus scan ofthe HDD 312 a component, in response to a determination that a technicalsupport session has been established, or in response to otherpredetermined criteria. In such an embodiment, the recovery mode unit510 may handle management of the hybrid storage drive 312. In anembodiment, the recovery mode unit 510 may cause the hybrid storagedrive 312 to operate in a hybrid mode where the alternate operatingsystem 212 b can access both the SSD 312 b and the HDD 312 a componentsof the hybrid drive. For example, the alternate operating system 212 bmay access backup files 404 and other applications or services hosted onthe SSD 312 b and at the same time access the HDD 312 a for errorremediation measures such as determining the state of the HDD 312 a,running a virus scan, repairing corrupt files, defragmenting the drive,etc.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method700 for managing a multi-mode hybrid storage drive 312. In anembodiment, the method 700 starts when the system state detector 502identifies an operational state of a system 102 having a hybrid datastorage device 312 and an interfacing processor, such as the drive modecontroller 402 or CPU 302 for example, the interfacing processorconfigured to interface with the hybrid data storage device 312 as shownat block 702. As shown at block 704, the method 700 may further includeinteracting with the hybrid data storage device 312 according to one ofa plurality of interaction modes in response to the operational state ofthe system 102.

FIG. 8 is a system state diagram illustrating a further embodiment of amethod for managing a multi-mode hybrid storage drive 312. As describedin FIG. 8, the user interface device 102 may operate according to one ormore of a plurality of system states as defined by predeterminedcriteria. In an embodiment, the system states may include aninitialization state 802, a normal state 806, a degraded state 808, anda recovery state 804. As described above with relation to FIG. 5, duringboth the initialization state 802 and the recovery state 804, the hybriddata storage device 312 may operate in a hybrid mode 810. During thenormal state 806, the hybrid data storage device 312 may operate in aHDD mode 812. During degraded state 808, the hybrid data storage device312 may operate in a SSD mode 814. One of ordinary skill will recognizethat alternative or additional system states and operational modes maybe defined according to system or user requirements.

It should be understood that various operations described herein may beimplemented in software executed by logic or processing circuitry,hardware, or a combination thereof. The order in which each operation ofa given method is performed may be changed, and various operations maybe added, reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. It is intendedthat the invention(s) described herein embrace all such modificationsand changes and, accordingly, the above description should be regardedin an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Although the invention(s) is/are described herein with reference tospecific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention(s), as setforth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figuresare to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense,and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scopeof the present invention(s). Any benefits, advantages, or solutions toproblems that are described herein with regard to specific embodimentsare not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essentialfeature or element of any or all the claims.

Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used toarbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus,these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or otherprioritization of such elements. The terms “coupled” or “operablycoupled” are defined as connected, although not necessarily directly,and not necessarily mechanically. The terms “a” and “an” are defined asone or more unless stated otherwise. The terms “comprise” (and any formof comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any formof have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form ofinclude, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any formof contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linkingverbs. As a result, a system, device, or apparatus that “comprises,”“has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more elements possesses those oneor more elements but is not limited to possessing only those one or moreelements. Similarly, a method or process that “comprises,” “has,”“includes” or “contains” one or more operations possesses those one ormore operations but is not limited to possessing only those one or moreoperations.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An Information Handling System (IHS),comprising: a hybrid data storage device having a magnetic disk drivecomponent and a solid state drive component; an interfacing processorconfigured to interface with the hybrid data storage device; and amemory coupled to the interfacing processor, the memory includingprogram instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by theinterfacing processor, cause the interfacing processor to: automaticallyidentify a first operational state of the IHS, wherein the firstoperational state is selected from the group consisting of: aninitialization state, a normal state, a degraded state, and a recoverystate; automatically interact with the hybrid data storage device in afirst one of a plurality of interaction modes corresponding to the firstoperational state of the IHS, wherein the interaction modes include: ahybrid mode, a hard disk drive mode, or a solid state drive mode;automatically identify a change from the first operational state to asecond operational state; and in response to the automaticidentification of the change, automatically interact with the hybriddata storage device in the second interaction mode, wherein the secondinteraction mode corresponds to the second operational state, whereinthe magnetic disk drive component is configured to store a primaryoperating system and primary files, and wherein the solid state drivecomponent is configured to store an alternate operating system and acache of persistently accessible files, wherein in the hybrid mode boththe magnetic disk drive component and the solid state drive componentare addressable, and wherein in the initialization state the interfacingprocessor is configured to: interface with the hybrid data storagedevice in the hybrid mode causing both the magnetic disk drive componentand the solid state drive component to be addressable by the primaryoperating system; load the primary operating system from the hard diskdrive component; and establish a partition in the solid state drivecomponent for hosting the alternate operating system and the cache ofpersistently accessible files.
 2. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium having program instructions stored thereon that, upon executionby an Information Handling System (IHS), cause the IHS to: identify,autonomously by the IHS, an operational state of the IHS, wherein theoperational state of the IHS is selected from the group consisting of:an initialization state, a normal state, a degraded state, and arecovery state, the IHS having a hybrid data storage device and aninterfacing processor configured to interface with the hybrid datastorage device, and the hybrid data storage device having a magneticdisk drive component and a solid state drive component; interact withthe hybrid data storage device in a corresponding one of a plurality ofinteraction modes according to the operational state of the IHS, theinteraction modes including: a hybrid mode, a hard disk drive mode, anda solid state drive mode; operate in the hybrid mode in which both themagnetic disk drive component and the solid state drive component areaddressable by the interfacing processor, in response to a determinationthat the IHS is operating in either (a) the initialization state inwhich the interfacing processor is configured to load a primaryoperating system from the magnetic disk drive component and establish apartition in the solid state drive component for hosting an alternateoperating system and a cache of persistently accessible files, or (b)the recovery state in which files stored in the cache of persistentlyaccessible files stored on the solid state component are accessible bythe interfacing processor; operate in the hard disk drive mode in whichonly the magnetic disk drive component is addressable by the interfacingprocessor in response to a determination that the IHS is operating inthe normal operation state in which a subset of files stored by theprimary operating system on the magnetic disk drive component is copiedto the cache of persistently accessible files; and operate in the solidstate drive mode in which only the solid state drive component isaddressable by the interfacing processor in response to a determinationthat the IHS is operating in the degraded state in which the alternateoperating system hosted by the solid state component is configured torun on the interfacing processor in response to a detected degradationof a performance characteristic of the primary operating system or themagnetic disk drive component.
 3. An Information Handling System (IHS),comprising: a hybrid data storage device having a magnetic disk drivecomponent and a solid state drive component; an interfacing processorconfigured to interface with the hybrid data storage device; and amemory coupled to the interfacing processor, the memory includingprogram instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by theinterfacing processor, cause the interfacing processor to: automaticallyidentify a first operational state of the IHS, wherein the firstoperational state is selected from the group consisting of: aninitialization state, a normal state, a degraded state, and a recoverystate; automatically interact with the hybrid data storage device in afirst one of a plurality of interaction modes corresponding to the firstoperational state of the IHS, wherein the interaction modes include: ahybrid mode, a hard disk drive mode, or a solid state drive mode;automatically identify a change from the first operational state to asecond operational state; and in response to the automaticidentification of the change, automatically interact with the hybriddata storage device in the second interaction mode, wherein the secondinteraction mode corresponds to the second operational state, whereinthe magnetic disk drive component is configured to store a primaryoperating system and primary files, and wherein the solid state drivecomponent is configured to store an alternate operating system and acache of persistently accessible files, and wherein in the hard diskdrive mode—only the magnetic disk drive component is addressable by theprimary operating system to the exclusion of the solid state drivecomponent, such that the hybrid data storage device appears as amagnetic disk drive only to a user and to applications running on theprimary operating system.
 4. The IHS of claim 3, wherein in the normalstate the interfacing processor is configured to interface with thehybrid data storage device in the hard disk drive mode, and wherein aselected subset of files stored by the primary operating system on thehard disk drive component is copied to the cache of persistentlyaccessible files on the solid state drive component by a backgroundprocess.
 5. An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising: a hybriddata storage device having a magnetic disk drive component and a solidstate drive component; an interfacing processor configured to interfacewith the hybrid data storage device; and a memory coupled to theinterfacing processor, the memory including program instructions storedthereon that, upon execution by the interfacing processor, cause theinterfacing processor to: automatically identify a first operationalstate of the IHS, wherein the first operational state is selected fromthe group consisting of: an initialization state, a normal state, adegraded state, and a recovery state; automatically interact with thehybrid data storage device in a first one of a plurality of interactionmodes corresponding to the first operational state of the IHS, whereinthe interaction modes include: a hybrid mode, a hard disk drive mode, ora solid state drive mode; automatically identify a change from the firstoperational state to a second operational state; and in response to theautomatic identification of the change, automatically interact with thehybrid data storage device in the second interaction mode, wherein thesecond interaction mode corresponds to the second operational state,wherein the magnetic disk drive component is configured to store aprimary operating system and primary files, and wherein the solid statedrive component is configured to store an alternate operating system anda cache of persistently accessible files, wherein in the hybrid modeboth the magnetic disk drive component and the solid state drivecomponent are addressable, and wherein in the solid state drive modeonly the solid state drive component is addressable by the alternateoperating system to the exclusion of the magnetic disk drive component.6. The IHS of claim 5, wherein in the degraded state the interfacingprocessor is configured to interact with the hybrid data storage devicein the solid state drive mode, and the alternate operating system hostedby the solid state component is configured to run on the interfacingprocessor to access the cache of persistently accessible files inresponse to a detected degradation of a performance characteristic ofthe primary operating system or the hard disk drive component.
 7. TheIHS of claim 6, wherein in the recovery state the interfacing processoris configured to interact with the hybrid data storage device in thehybrid mode, and wherein the primary files stored in the magnetic diskdrive component are addressable by the alternate operating system.